Short Stories in Rhyme

SHORT STORIES IN RHYME is a poetry book authored by Peter M. Atkins.These poems are creatively written about the Australian outback, and offer crystal clear glimpses into its beauty, colour and tragic weather extremes. They are in excellent company with tributes to mothers, nurses, soldiers, sailors and friends. Along with verse on comedy and the intricacies of life. More

CONTENTS

MY FRIEND If you needed my eyes to see for youthe light of the moon or a starTO SEE, TO TOUCH, TO BE To awake and watch the sunrisein colours red and goldTHE PARADE The band struck up the anthemas the soldiers moved along mainWISHES A rising river miles away washes dirt and black soil claythrough gullies deep until this place I seeTHE LONELY BUSHMANS MATE Even with his woolly coatthe wind still blew right throughLOOKING BACK He looked back at the little boyand pulled a funny faceTHE MARINERS MEANING IN LIFE Loose the mooring ropes me heartiesleave the harbor lights behindNATURES PEST CONTROL Time is short and time flies byand outback sun dehydratesOCEAN STORM Rolling restless water flowsand ebbs from soaking sandA REMINDER She’s the rose without the thornshe’s the light on winters mornTHE RIVER RED GUM She stood on the banks of the darlingjust out of Bourke the townRABBITS Soft and furry with fluffy taila pet in children’s sleepSMILES IN STONE To acres of marble monuments through gates of no returnwhere angels rest with smiles set in faces of weathered stoneTHE PIONEERS HOUSEOf wattle and daub and plank and boardthe settlers house still standsRIVER TO OCEAN TO CLOUDS She’d lived by the riverhe’d first met her thereSEVENTH HEAVEN Of gidgee alone, by soot covered stonea fire alive in its placeTHE SWAGMANS DOG He was a leftover from the depressionthat finished twenty years beforeA DAY IN HER LIFE She’s the infinity of spirit gentleand as light as eiderdownTHE SILENT PARTNER She’d given her life as a farmer’s wifelived with the drought on the landWESTERN AUSTRALIA BY FIRELIGHT In the still and quiet bush twilightas sunset leaves the skyTHE WEDDING DRESS The wedding dress was an ivory shadebordered with handmade laceTHE WRONG SIDE OF THIRTY NINE When time is short and the game near playedand forty plus on the scoreboardALL SHE WANTED FOR CHRISTMAS He kissed his wife and loverand hugged his children threeFROM ONE EXTREME TO ANOTHER Fluid the flooding riverof rain when fallen, flowsIN WAYS MYSTERIOUS If God wills the rains will comeand the earth will drink ‘til fullVENGENCE NEVER ENDED The buzz of the bee begins with flightbuzzing by contentedA FISH STORY Usually when he told a lieof fish he’d caught on lineI COULD I could walk the hills of my homelandor over mountains carved in stoneECHOES OF FLORENCE With footfall light through dark of nightthe sentinel finds her wayGOLD TO SILVER TO STONE Look there in gold she raisesa silent glowing ballTHE PARTY It’s time to leave the partyI know you don’t want to goTHE BLADE SHEARER He was a shearer from the outbackhis blows were self taught styleBOGGED There’s no moonlight, just a star lit nightwith the colour of the darkness all aroundBUSH POETS NIGHT North Bourke hotel, bush poets nightstories tall but trueDUST, STORM, RAIN The sun shines through in silverred clouds of grit wind blownCASKET OF MEMORIES The casket held pictures and piecesfrom the corners of this landCHILDRENS IMAGINATION Of seas and trees and mountain breezeof frogs and toads and streamsDAYDREAM VAPOUR Sometimes red in coloursometimes a lighter greyA DOGS LIFE Ah, it’s nice to doze in the sun‘til my human arrives back homeDREAMING BY THE DARLING RIVER They’ve irradiated Indian groundand the earth of Pakistan tooDROUGHT IN DEFEAT Our wait was always with questionour hope was in declineMY DARLING RIVERSunny Sunday, warm all aroundshady tree and stubbies brownEDGE OF THE NEST I see your son as he walks awayout into the light of a clear sunny dayA SOFTER SIDE I hear your stories of floods and droughtof an outback as wide as the sky

I believe that a person becomes the product of their life experiences. My life’s experiences ranged from windmill erector/repairer out at the back of Bourke, White Cliffs and Wanaaring, through to abattoir worker in Canberra, Townsville and Bourke. Pest control man based in Perth, Canberra and Wagga which allowed me to access to each cities surrounding areas. Laboratory assistant at Macquarie University involved in antivenin research against the Sydney Funnel Web spiders’ venom. Bull catching up the Gibb River road and down towards the Great Sandy Desert in the Kimberly. Orderly, ambulance driver and mortuary attendant at Derby district hospital Western Australia for three different dry seasons and one wet season. Mining exploration in 1981 east of Turkey Creek to the Bungle Bungles and down the Duncan Highway to the upper reaches of the Ord River. 1986-88 spent in mining exploration from Charters Towers to the Clarke River and at Maytown and Barrow Point. Manufacturer of Goanna Swags of Bourke that saw the bright lights of the advertising world on Great Temptation, Family Feud, Wheel of Fortune and Price is Right. Other occupations took me to Port Adelaide, Queensland railway Dalby, the opal fields of White Cliffs and western Queensland, mail truck driver from Bourke to Wanaaring, hay carter out of Katanning and Ballarat, contract painter in Isisford, over 20,000 miles of hitch hiking in Australia and New Zealand, six times across the Nullarbor and five years living as a hermit in a tin shack by the Darling River. Had a tumour removed from my neck which involved radiotherapy for my 21st birthday and resulted in severe facial palsy for my 27th birthday. An abscess burst in my belly and took away 200mm of my colon in 1997 from which I learnt the meaning of wearing a colostomy bag. I have made and lost friends, some passed on while others I left behind. These are the wins, losses and the trials that made me the person I am happy to be, and which gave birth to my book “Short Stories in Rhyme”. There is of course one last thing. I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis fifteen years ago near the beginning of my books writing, so I now live in a wheelchair and travel abroad to the boardwalk on a mobility scooter. I dedicated my book to ‘Those who remind us our faith in human nature’. They are all around, family, friends, carers, community nurses, Homecare. Those who see to it that I am able to cope with the tasks that I used to take for granted, change my catheters and pick me up when I fall. Everyday Australians to whom I am thankful to, for their patience and their choice of careers.

CONTENTS

MY FRIEND If you needed my eyes to see for you the light of the moon or a star TO SEE, TO TOUCH, TO BE To awake and watch the sunrise in colours red and gold THE PARADE The band struck up the anthem as the soldiers moved along main WISHES A rising river miles away washes dirt and black soil clay through gullies deep until this place I see THE LONELY BUSHMANS MATE Even with his woolly coat the wind still blew right through LOOKING BACK He looked back at the little boy and pulled a funny face THE MARINERS MEANING IN LIFE Loose the mooring ropes me hearties leave the harbor lights behind NATURES PEST CONTROL Time is short and time flies by and outback sun dehydrates OCEAN STORM Rolling restless water flows and ebbs from soaking sand A REMINDER She’s the rose without the thorn she’s the light on winters morn THE RIVER RED GUM She stood on the banks of the darling just out of Bourke the town RABBITS Soft and furry with fluffy tail a pet in children’s sleep SMILES IN STONE To acres of marble monuments through gates of no return where angels rest with smiles set in faces of weathered stone THE PIONEERS HOUSE Of wattle and daub and plank and board the settlers house still stands MY DARLING RIVER Sunny Sunday warm all around RIVER TO OCEAN TO CLOUDS She’d lived by the river he’d first met her there SEVENTH HEAVEN Of gidgee alone, by soot covered stone a fire alive in its place THE SWAGMANS DOG He was a leftover from the depression that finished twenty years before A DAY IN HER LIFE She’s the infinity of spirit gentle and as light as eiderdown THE SILENT PARTNER She’d given her life as a farmer’s wife lived with the drought on the land WESTERN AUSTRALIA BY FIRELIGHT In the still and quiet bush twilight as sunset leaves the sky THE WEDDING DRESS The wedding dress was an ivory shade bordered with handmade lace THE WRONG SIDE OF THIRTY NINE When time is short and the game near played and forty plus on the scoreboard ALL SHE WANTED FOR CHRISTMAS He kissed his wife and lover and hugged his children three FROM ONE EXTREME TO ANOTHER Fluid the flooding river of rain when fallen, flows IN WAYS MYSTERIOUS If God wills the rains will come and the earth will drink ‘til full VENGENCE NEVER ENDED The buzz of the bee begins with flight buzzing by contented A FISH STORY Usually when he told a lie of fish he’d caught on line I COULD I could walk the hills of my homeland or over mountains carved in stone ECHOES OF FLORENCE With footfall light through dark of night the sentinel finds her way GOLD TO SILVER TO STONE Look there in gold she raises a silent glowing ball THE PARTY It’s time to leave the party I know you don’t want to go THE BLADE SHEARER He was a shearer from the outback his blows were self taught style BOGGED There’s no moonlight, just a star lit night with the colour of the darkness all around BUSH POETS NIGHT North Bourke hotel, bush poets night stories tall but true DUST, STORM, RAIN The sun shines through in silver red clouds of grit wind blown CASKET OF MEMORIES The casket held pictures and pieces from the corners of this land CHILDRENS IMAGINATION Of seas and trees and mountain breeze of frogs and toads and streams DAYDREAM VAPOUR Sometimes red in colour sometimes a lighter grey A DOGS LIFE Ah, it’s nice to doze in the sun‘til my human arrives back home DREAMING BY THE DARLING RIVER They’ve irradiated Indian ground and the earth of Pakistan too DROUGHT IN DEFEAT Our wait was always with question our hope was in declineMY DARLING RIVERSunny Sunday, warm all around shady tree and stubbies brown EDGE OF THE NEST I see your son as he walks away out into the light of a clear sunny day A SOFTER SIDE I hear your stories of floods and drought of an outback as wide as the sky

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Reviews

Review by:
Glenn
on April 20, 2015 :
I’ve always been a fan of Australian poetry, the sort that evokes the landscape, the harsh climate, the larrikinism and the indomitable spirit of the bush people. When I picked up ‘Short Stories in Rhyme’ I was hoping to be transported back to that sunburned land and I wasn’t disappointed. The author’s style combines the realism of Lawson, the lyricism of Paterson but mostly the endearing warmth and familiarity of Murray. Mr Atkins knows his outback well and knows how to describe it. Some of his best work (I think) contains a transcendent quality that is rare and beautiful. I recommend this volume to anyone seeking out new Australian writing and I hope that the author will continue to write and add to the anthology of fine Australian poetry.